 |
| Saturday 05 February 2005 East Court 3 Dormansland Rockets 0 A FIERCELY contested local derby saw East Court come out on top in this Mid Sussex Football League Division 6 clash at Imberhorne School on Saturday (February 5). Both sides had early chances with East Court's Billy Denyer well denied by the Dormansland keeper while the home side's shot stopper Paul Bishop beat out an away team's effort. East Court striker Paul Brice was booked for dissent and Dormansland came within inches of taking the lead when Martin Eade got to the ball ahead of the onrushing Paul Bishop but saw it come back off a post and it was whacked to safety by the home team's defence. Mid-way through the half a long ball forward saw a Dormansland player slip and Denyer outpaced the defence before slotting home to give East Court the lead. Man-of-the-match Martyn Bishop was winning every header at the back while Lee Champion and captain Simon Nickols dominated the midfield battle with some well-timed tackles. At the start of the second period Ross Kelly almost intercepted a back pass but the Dormansland keeper recovered before the forward could get his shot away. Shortly after Brice got tangled up with a Dormansland player and both players saw yellow - with a red following for the East Court striker having already been cautioned. Despite having ten men it was East Court who continued to dominate with the pace of Carl Buckler, Andy Wright and Denyer constantly troubling the Dormansland defence. Champion then put Denyer away and East Court's top-scorer made no mistake to double the home team's lead. And a third soon followed to wrap the three points up for East Court. Champion played in Kelly, whose sublime chip flew into the top of the net. Player-manager Daniel Medcalf was forced into a change when Adam Shillibeer replaced the injured Wright after a late tackle by Paul Twinn, for which the Dormansland player was booked. Chris Butler also came on for Martyn Bishop. Dormansland almost got a consolation with the last kick of the game after Paul Bishop failed to hold a shot but reacted quickly to block the rebound. Team: P.Bishop, A.Wright (A.Shillibeer), C.Buckler, M.Bishop (C.Butler), D.Medcalf, N.Palmer, S.Nickols, B.Denyer, R.Kelly, P.Brice, L.Champion |